8. Quadrophenia - The Who
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n88t403veYI By the 1970s, The Who had entered a bit of an identity crisis. Theyd outgrown the hyper mod-rock they perfected early in their career, with songs like My Generation. And the ever-creative Pete Townsend tried to move past even the introspective arena rock of Tommy. So they moved on to a double-LP concept album in 1973. This album, Quadrophenia, tells the tale of a young man in the mid-60s whose life is falling apart as his personality gradually tears itself into four parts. Each of these is represented by a musical motif and one member of The Who. And the album came with a short story telling the tale that was set to music. I used to spend hours as a kid listening to my dads copy of this album, reading the text, trying to interpret each song. And then Id spend the rest of the night depressed, but I think thats what Pete was going for. The album is full of complex and emotion-filled rock songs that fit together like a Beethoven symphony. Can you imagine any artist taking the time to do this nowadays? Do any of the cheesy 80s rock anthems we all love to sing along to come close to the emotional punch of Love, Reign Oer Me? Could any of the emo hits of the 90s capture the despair of latter-20th century youth as effectively as Quadrophenia did?